the cia will continue to thrive and carry out its essential mission and i have the utmost confidence in acting director michael morell and the men who work every day to keep our country safe. going forward, my thoughts and prayers are with dave and holly petraeus, who has done so much to help military families throughout her own work." president obama does not specifically reference the affair that director petraeus says that he had in his resignation letter. just his thoughts and prayers go out to the petraeus family. this comes at a time when the obama administration is under intense scrutiny for the benghazi attack that left four americans dead, including ambassador stevens. he was expected to testify next week and that is now not going to hoopen. i just want to make one note about the acting director, michael morell he is someone who is a career agency officer.

someone who the president has a lot of confidence in and, according to the administration official, this is someone who was deeply engaged in the planning and effort to take down osama bin laden and who briefed the president regularly, so it really bolstered the president's confidence in him. right now he is serving as acting director and, again, just stunning news developing here on this friday afternoon. jim, wendy? >> thanks, kristen. in the district, police are looking for the men who fired shots near the white house this morn as they were reportedly shooting at some people they just robbed. jackie benson is in lafayette park to explain how this all unfolded. >> police say the victims were impetuous in following the suspex, but they did do something very smart. they pull under to lafy et park knowing there are always secret service officers on duty here. the bullet hole shows how very close the victims came to serious harm. they ask that we not identify

it. >> i'm shocked. therve never happened to me. >> reporter: the men say they were part of a group of five people who just left mia lounge, a popular late-night club when they were approached by three men with gub guns. two were wearing ski masks and there was a scuffle. the robbers took many and cell phone and fled in the waiting get away car when two of the victims jumped in the suv and started following them until a bullet came through the windshield. >> chased them with a car and that's when they shot the vehicle so they could stop, so they don't follow them. >> reporter: police caution it's important to not to try to take the law into your own hands. >> obviously, if you're able to see a tag and note the tag, but don't try to take the matter in your own hands and i would not follow someone, especially if someone is armed. you don't want to put yourself in that position. >> reporter: the club's owner says he normally has a closing time, but on this particular morning, that person wasn't there. police are searching for the robbers and their vehicle.

it's described as a silver lincoln with d.c. license plates ec-0424. if yousk seen it, call d.c. police. reporting live in northwest washington, jackie benson, news 4. tonight, we're learning and hearing from a man who came to a woman's rescue after she had been attacked in her upper northwest d.c. home. news 4 pat collins joins us live with his reaction in the chevy chase neighborhood where it all unfolded. pat? >> jim. two things tonight. first, official charges for that teenager accused of beating and robbing an 81-year-old woman. and then we hear from the postman who came to her aid. >> it's hard. i never seen anything like this in this community ever. it's strange. unfortunately, it had to happen to someone like her. >> this is teddy, he's the mailman in this neighborhood. he came to the rescue of that

81-year-old woman beaten and robbed in her home on mckinley street. >> knocked on her door to give her the mail and i notice she was disturbed. and she reached out to me and said, you have to help me. i said, what happened? she said, she had been attacked and robbed. i said, do you need the police? she said, yes, could you please call them. >> reporter: this happened wednesday and police say an 18-year-old broke through a basement window and robbed the woman who lives here. >> she had a big bruise and a bump, you know, on her forehead. so, she was assaulted or something, you know. but she and she was disoriented. >> reporter: that's the man next door. this 81-year-old victim has lived here on mckinley street for many years. they say she's legally blind, hearing impaired, but very self-sufficient. each day, they say, she takes a especially marked cane, tucks it under her arm and then walks

from chevy chase to bethesda and back. >> for someone to take advantage of an 81-year-old woman, at best, you can say, evil. at worst, deranged. >> reporter: arrested in the case, 18-year-old tyran mcelrath. he was picked up yesterday on savannah place southeast. he had been in the neighborhood looking for potential targets before that break in. now, after his arrest, suspect mcelrath told police, i messed up, you got me. that lady could have been my grandmother. i feel sorry for her. live in northwest, pat collins, news 4. today president obama and republican house speaker john boehner both laid out ideas to avert the so-called fiscal cliff next year. and it seems clear the two leaders and a bipartisan deal

are still worlds apart. keith russell is in our newsroom with more on this high-stakes battle. keith? >> wendy, president obama's first remarks since being re-elected that he and congress have no choice. reach an agreement before the end of the year or taxes will go up for everyone, which could mean another recession. that's a deadline that's looming and the so-called fiscal cliff. in a speech at the white house today, the president said he's open toioids, as long as the wealthiest realize they have to do their part. >> i am not going to ask students and seniors and middle class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes. i'm not going to do that. >> reporter: just about two h r hours before president obama spoke, speaker of the house john boehner had his own news conference saying raising the highest rates will only hurt the economy more and proposed

extending tax cuts from t bush era until 2013. >> everyone wants to get our economy moving, again. everyone wants to get more americans back to work, again. raising tax rates will slow down our ability to create the jobs that everyone says they want. >> so, all we need is action from the house. and i've got the pen, ready to sign the bill right away. i'm ready to do it. i'm ready to do it. >> that's where we stand for now. who knows where we'll be next week when president obama invited leaders of congress to the white house to continue these talks in person. live in the newsroom, keith russell, news 4. the cold weather is leaving us and the sunshine is coming back for our weekend. storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer has more. >> we have been below average for two weeks and it looks like this weekend will change that. 54 degrees and the sun has already made its way down.

the wind now out of the north at 6 miles per hour. still, a little chill to the air, but nothing like we've seen the last couple of days. speaking of the sun sets. the sun now sets before 5:00 from now until january 4th. sun set tonight coming in at 4:59. how about that. 49 degrees at 9:00 and 47 by 11:00. waking up tomorrow morning in and around the district and temperatures in the low 40s and many in the low 30s when you wake up on your saturday morning and we'll talk about this weekend. one day will be better than the other and what is our next storm looking like? i'll have it all for you coming up in a couple minutes. a northern virginia congressman says new federal laws are needed to make it easier for people to vote in national elections without standing in those long lines. congressman jerry connelly says the delays on tuesday were inexcusable and tom sherwood talked with him and joins us. >> he said there should be early voting everywhere and same-day registration. thousands of voters can recite

individual election day stories about long waits in line tuesday to vote in the national elections. seems like these in northern virginia occurred all across the country. on the wmau politics hour friday, northern virginia congressman jerry connally who won with 60% of the vote called the long waits inexcusable. >> looking at those long lines and some of it was just inexcusable. >> reporter: connally said the long lines are unfair to every voter, especially those with jobs, physical or family obligations. he said some worry too much about rare voting fraud rather than making voting easier. >> we're worried about someone that we can't find them who actually might fraudulently cast a vote and i would have absolute early voting, no excuses required. for two or three weeks prior to an election. >> reporter: virginia is the only local state jurisdiction in

our area that doesn't allow early voting. absentee balloting, but only for specific reans. connally would support federal legislation to make days uniform across the nation. >> i would absolutely support creating some uniform federal standards that make it easier for people to exercise their sacred right to vote. >> connally had no specific timetable on when any federal legislation would be proposed. wendy? when we come right back at 5:00, a northern virginia bus driver suffers an emergency behind the wheel. >> so, you want to live in an area with a lot of public transportation. it's probably going to cost you. the story coming up. and, baby, it's cold in there. the national harbor begins

a dramatic chase ends with a maryland state trooper in the hospital. this accident happened off route 1 near the ikea in college park this afternoon. that trooper was trying to stop a stolen car but that driver hit him. no word on the extent of his injuries. that stolen car was later spotted and a chase ensued from new hampshire avenue and along that and powder mill road.

investigators say the suspect then ditched the car, ran off, but they got him. scary moments today for students in culpeper. the driver had a medical emergency and crashed into a ditch. 70-year-old jerry headings died at the hospital. seven high school students were on the bus but they were not hurt. things are back to normal after this morning's crash involving a metro bus. the bus to boston station t-boned a car, 12 people were on the bus and one person went to the hospital with minor injuries. hundreds of victims of hurricane sandy will literally be getting a warm feeling, thanks to the generosity of northern virginia donors. the leesburg community are collecting blankets now to send up to folks who lost power and everything in last week's storm. they called their effort "operation keep them warm." it all began with calls for help

from a minister and the manager. >> every time we had a community need, we have always stepped up very quickly to meet that community need and i think this is a great example of us doing that. and the community and the employees just really understanding what everybody in new york and new jersey is going through and really wanting to help and this is an easy way to do that. >> fedex is picking up the cost of shipping the blankets. donations are accepted at a noble loudon hospital until tuesday. well, the annual holiday returns to national harbor. this year it has a new theme, our photo journalist chester got a preview of this winter wonderland. >> reporter: today we're at ice featuring sclek the hauls which is our winter attraction. it's open friday november 16th through january 6th and what guests will see here. an indoor walk through winter

wonderland. we brought in 2 million pounds of ice and 40 ice carvers have spent the last month building this incredible walk-through experience. there are ten different colors of ice and they were used in the creation of each one of these sculptures. thes who built the attraction traveled here from china and they're known as the best. one of the most favorite parts of the attraction is definitely the ice slide. so much fun. adults and kids and everyone loves going down the ice slides. one of the largest attractions is the pink dragon fromhe shrek movies and she measures 40 feet long and from the top to had top of her wing span she's 25 feet high and the story of shrek. he doesn't really understand how to celebrate christmas because ogres don't celebrate christmas but his friends, donkey and all the other characters from the shrek movies come together and show him what the spirit of the holidays is really about and that's about celebrating the holidays with your family and friends. >> boy, that is beautiful. all the colors and that ice, that's amazing.

>> they keep coats down there to keep you warm. >> we don't have to bring our coats out now, but you have a nice tie out. >> thank you very much. tied it myself, too, by the way. >> it's not a clip on. >> not on a clip on. this is a tie. miracle tie day just to let you know. this is a tie from john hopkins children's center and they want you to go out and buy some of these ties so you can help with the children's center. my brother had a tough time and they helped my brother get through his tough time. wanted to wear this tie today. go to joseph a. bank and you can also buy these online. this one does have a snowman on it. my winter forecast coming up next week. i do think we'll be able to make snowman this winter. we didn't make any last winter, but this winter we may just get to make some. the forecast out there, not make it this weekend, that's for sure. clear skies out there right now and we'll continue to see those clear skies throughout the rest of the evening hours and most likely into early tomorrow morning before the clouds do try

to move back in. 54 degrees the current temperature. wind out of the north at 6 miles per hour. not bad at all this evening and for a friday night, this is about the best friday night we've seen in about three weeks. get out and enjoy it, although you will need the jackets. 54 in gaithersburg. as far as the radar is concerned. no rain. i don't expect any rain this weekend. the next chance of rain won't come until the day on tuesday. so, enjoy the dry weather for now. satellite and radar showing not just dry weather, but, once again, 100% clear skies across the region. we are going to watch a frontal boundary, though. a warm front just to our north. high pressure that is dominating and we saw sunshine today and milder temperatures. this area of high pressure will slide across our region and also be a little bit of a warm front in the upper levels of the atmosphere. that will give us a chance for more cloud cover tomorrow and we'll call it a mixture of sun and clouds, but not a bad saturday at all and nice, warm temperatures above average for the first time in nearly two weeks, i think. and on sunday, with all the

sunshine, we will have no problem, no problem getting above average on sunday afternoon. then, we'll watch this baby, this is a frontal boundary making its way from the northwest. parts of the dakotas and that storm system will head our way, but it will not bring any of that to us. clear skies, a nice evening tonight, 49 to about 54 degrees and wind out of the north and northwest about five to ten miles per hour. tomorrow morning, mostly clear, continued cool and 30 to 41 degrees. little bit of a cool start and the sun is going to come up and warm things up fairly quickly and the clouds move on in. increasing clouds but still some sunshine. mild temperatures 60 to 65 degrees and winds on the light side tomorrow. wind will start to pick up on sunday but a warm wind on our veterans day and, of course, we'll all be out of cool and on work on monday for most of us as we celebrate that veterans day. temperatures 70 and 72 degrees. tuesday a good chance of showers and maybe even a few thunderstorms with a strong

frontal boundary that will push temperatures back down to below average as we move through next week. enjoy the weekend, it is here to stay. the warm weather. >> thank you, doug. more breaking news right now in news 4. the man about to take over for lockheed martin as ceo has just resigned for personal relationship matters with a subordinant employee. 51-year-old christopher was vice chair president and chief operating officer of the company. the company says an ethics investigation confirmed the relationship that's in violation of lockheed martin's code of ethics. the board elected the executive vice president to take his role now. we will have much more on this coming up tonight on news 4 at 6:00. still ahead, the food fight over where trucks can park in the district. plus, wendy sits down one-on-one with ellen degeneres. tonight in high school football, it's playoff time and we'll introduce you to some real

underdogs that want to shock the world. coming up on news 4 at 6:00 -- >> this is the site of a skate park and it took four years to get this far and now the work has staupd, again. i'm tracee wilkins, coming up on news 4, why folks are

you know what, we are playing football in gaithersburg and we're talking about playoffs. playoffs. jim mora -- we're talking about playoffs. most fridays we're spotlighting the area powerhouses and tonight we're looking at the underdog. proving they are not just a one-hit wonder. they're making their second straight playoff appearance in as many years but the schedulemakers didn't do them many favors. hey, zach. >> hey. something about playoff football that just feels good. after talking to a couple of the guys this week, i know i'm not alone. here's the story tonight, the runners up last year in the state championship game and they feel like they have unfinished business. on the other side, bethesda chevy chase. put together three winning

seasons. they did it this year, they're hungry and ready to get some stuff done. last year they got bounced early from the playoffs and this time they're trying to make a statement. no better time than the present to do it. >> this is everything that we've been dreaming about. this is friday night lights, all the movies we watched "remember the titans." pl pl playoff game, biggest in school history. i want to come back and see our name in the atrium. like the 1950s guys are still up. that's like exciting. if we get success, this is where it started. >> reporter: when you think about winning and football, bethesda chevy chase high school doesn't ring a bell. when you hear about the '50s guys, you would have to refer to '57, '58 and '59. the last time they had three straight winning seasons. this group has done it. highlighted by a win over cross town rival wittman, this team might make a believer out of you

before it's all said and done. >> i've been a believer since off-season workouts and turnouts we had and how much stronger and faster we've gotten and they validated it because it was a big victory for us. if we beat wittman, gave a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. >> meant change and meant our program was finally where we wanted it to be. we will be the cross town rival and something we have done in x amount of years or ten years. it felt good to just taste that success. >> reporter: but a win could be even more difficult to come by. the cougars are the number one seed this year after coming up just short in the state championship game last year. led by a group of guys headed to play big-time college football, no one thinks the barrons can do it. >> they are an amazing team.

well coached, disciplined, athletic, big and strong. >> we have always been the underdogs and always been the smallest team and going up there, we have nothing to lose at all. we basically, it's us going, fighting for our lives. could be our last game ever. i don't know if any of us will get a play in college or anything, but i know a lot of them are. they have everything to lose and we have nothing to lose. >> you got to love those guys from bethesda chevy chase. they're hungry and they have an opportunity tonight to do something big. they are going up against their defense and marcus newby headed to nebraska next year. a true test there. everybody at home, if you don't have anything going on, come out and support one of your local high school football teams. they earned a right to be here and i know they would appreciate your support. carol, back to you. >> thank you, we appreciate your work. that was a good story. looking forward to the highlights.

have them for you tonight at 11:00. coming up at 5:30, which neighborhood in our yaarea have the best access to public transportation. >> details coming up on news 4. an exclusive tour with firefighters battling huge fires during hurricane

fast forward through the headlines. d.c. police are looking for a group and three men reportedly mugged five people near dupont circle this morning. two of the victims followed the suspects in their porsche suv. a bullet pierced their windshield when the robbers opened fire near the white house. david petraeus stepped down from his post as the director of the cia after he admitted he had an extra marital affair. in a letter he calls it unacceptable as the leader of that agency and as a husband. mike morell will fill in as acting director and david gregory will join us at 6:00 to talk about this leadership change. president obama inviting leadership to avert the fiscal cliff of tax increases and spending cuts due to hit in january. mr. obama said he's open to compromise and new ideas. what the president said higher taxes on the wealthiest americans are an essential part of dealing with the nation's

deficit. republican house speaker john boehner is pushing for lower tax rates. now, let's fast forward to the weather. doug? >> the weather today, pretty good. not bad at all with plenty of sunshine and temperatures higher than they have been thealist few days and 54 degrees out there right now in washington and notice back to the west, 82 in dallas and 70 in st. louis and 70 in memphis and that's going to be a nice warm up coming our way as temperatures will move close to that 70 degree mark later this weekend. we'll talk about that and what our next storm will bring in just a few minutes. >> all right. living next to a train or bus stop makes it easier to move around our area, but just how well does the public transportation near you connect you to your job. adam live in boston with results from a new study. adam? >> well, wendy so many people rely on mass transit but how easy is it for you to use mass transportation and, more

importantly, does it make sense. you don't have to go far to find a commuter train or bus. a new report from the broogings institution said places like downtown d.c., arlington is the best for linking jobs to transit. if you want to live in a place with numerous transit options, you'll usually have to pay a high housing cost for it. some workers simply can't live close to jobs. >> housing in these places is tough to afford and low income residents and middle class residents. >> reporter: if we're not carol, a whole segment of our community could essentially be pushed farther away from the area. >> we have to do a better job that the housing and transit are not connected, but people can afford to live in these places, which are so attractive right now. >> reporter: longer commutes add to the congestion problem.

here on metro rail, commuters have mixed feelings with the road that connects themes to their jobs and homes. >> pretty good that way and from the people i talked to. everybody that i, at least in my little corridor here, everybody seems like they talk about a lot, it's part of their lives, they use it. it works reasonably well. >> obviously, i would like it for more opportunities to go out and grab a metro, but it's fine for what i need it for. >> reporter: and, still, there are others that say our mass transit like metro needs to function better on the whole. >> almost every time i need to use it, the leaders are out or i have to wait forever. so, it's the best choice that i have, but i'm not thrilled. >> now, this report is also calling on more affordable redevelopment around underutilized metro stations like along the green line in prince george's county. reporting live in arlington. heads up if you're planning

to take the dulles airport road next week. drainage installation road work and that means overnight closures and the eastbound lanes to the exit to route 123 ask the dulles connector road will start closing at 9:00 monday night and last through 5:00 a.m. saturday. eastbound airport access traffic will be on the dulles connector road. all part of the dulles corridor and metro rail project. food trucks are a lunchtime fixture for thousands of d.c. employees who work downtown. as derek ward explains, it's threatening to put them out of business. >> reporter: the food trucks have seemed to multiply over the past couple of years. you can get just about anything. >> i just tasted some beef brisket from the barbecue truck down there. >> reporter: but many vaendors what they're getting is squeezed from d.c. regulatory agency and the city's department of

transportation. >> no idea of balancing needs just we're not seeing eye to eye on that. >> reporter: the guidelines for where the vendors could set up. they circle the park, but if the new regulations went into effect, all these trucks park here would be breaking the law. >> 7'5" of space here. >> reporter: the proposed new rules would require ten fealt of clear sidewalk space for the trucks to operate in the central biz district, which is pretty much where all the hungry workers are. this sidewalk would be compliant and this is wide enough that even with these obstructions have people walk by. but the vendors say there are not enough places like this for this not to hurt them. >> eighth out of ten hot spots wouldn't comply with those regulations right here. >> reporter: making sure the sidewalks don't get too crowded. >> remind our curcustomers to keep the line close to the truck. >> reporter: many of the vendors say they bring something else to

the curb that can't be measured in feet and inches. >> a lot of diversity to the city that, frank le, it lacks. all these people, this is what they want. >> reporter: what they want is a mix. they welcome come regulation and recognize it's needed but not enough that it puts it out of business. >> i like it. coming up on news 4 at 5:00, hollywood comes to potomac to shoot a brand-new movie. firefighters take us on the front lines while t

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well, a house on river road in potomac, maryland, has been turned into a movie set. the british broadcasting company is shooting scenes from a new movie. it stars oscar winning actress judi dench who plays a woman looking for a son she gave up 50 years ago. theon news 4 we got a chance to see them shoot a scene in the driveway at 7:30 this morning. residents we talked to said, it's worth it. >> i think it's really cool for them to be in the area and it's such a beautiful area, so, might as well get the rest of the world to see it. >> i think it's really exciting. hollywood comes to potomac. so, yeah, i think it's exciting.

>> but one resident says the production company should be more considerate about the traffic mess and not shoot during rush hour. nestle usa is recalling some of its nesquik chocolate powder mix because it may be contaminated with salmonella. you should check the production code and if it says best before october 2012, nestle said you should take it back to the store for the full refund. it only affects products sold in october. a supplier told them an ingredient in the nesquik may be contaminated with salmonella. so far, no one has complained of being sick. guess what, wendy is sitting down with ellen degeneres. you don't want to miss this one, folks. how can you donate clothing and shoes to those affected by hurricane sandy? that's the question, the answer is coming up on "ask liz" on news 4 at 5:00. looks like a pretty nice

weekend and an nice evening out there right now.

hey, we're ready, are you ready? the mercury is about to take off on us. >> sounds good, duc. >> i hear you're going to be talking to ellen in just a minute. i got to interview her a while back, did you get to dance? >> no. in fact, she talks about dancing on her show. you would be surprised what she says. i was surprised when she said what she said. >> we have time now if you want to take time to do a little dancing. >> no, i don't think so. >> just thought i would offer it up. temperatures 54 degrees and wind out of the north at six miles per hour. no, i don't think so. around the region, this is where we stand around the metro area. 53 in camp springs and right now 56 degrees out towards annapolis. the cool spot, gaithersburg

coming in at 46. you know it's going to be a little cool, but not like what we have seen over the past couple of days and that's good news. tonight is going to be dry and going to be clear, look for clear skies to start the day tomorrow and then we see clouds on the increase. 41 overnight in washington and 44 in gaithersburg and we will get down below freezing in some locations overnight, but we're not talking about widespread freeze, once again. tomorrow morning, we'll start off cool but i think we start to break out of this a little bit. the average high temperature tomorrow, 61 degrees and we'll be at 64 for the forecast high. little bit more clouds to the north and little bit more sun to the south. with that, little bit cooler and frederick 58 and fredericksburg coming in at 66 degrees. little bit warmer as you head down to the south and that warm up will continue right through the day on sunday and into monday. sunday 70 degrees and 72 on your monday and then we'll watch our next frontal boundary and a very

strong front that is going to come through here with strong winds and maybe even some strong thunderstorms early on thursday and then we'll see that frontal boundary move through and cooler weather will move back in. a high of only 50 on wednesday and most of us will stay in the 40s all day but that time of year, sgeagain, when we start t get on the cool side. enjoy this weekend because this weekend is looking good. if you're not going to dance, wendy, i won't either. >> it's time to leave. well, ellen degeneres revealed some surprising things about her when she was in town recently. i got to sit down with her and we talked about being funny and why she has always wanted her comedy to be kind. >> have you ever seen a man use a coupon. women could fix the deficit in six months. coupons. i think there's always a face for kind humor. i don't think humor has to be mean. you know, i think, really, after

9/11, a lot of people weren't doing shows and couldn't do their monologues in the beginning of shows because it was usually mean spirited and usually sarcastic and just a gentler time and i didn't have to change anything because my stuff never hurt anybody's feelings and it never really went after anybody and it was a safe place and i didn't do political humor. so, you know, i'm not saying anything is wrong with that, but i always think there will be a market for people who just want to feel good and turn the tv on and know that no one is going to get hurt watching it. >> right. do you feel uncomfortable. sometimes you feel a little, who are they going to go after? >> i think even if people don't feel uncomfortable if they're watching and laughing at something that is a joke at someone else's expense, they're not really going through the steps of, oh, somebody is getting hurt there. somebody is getting hurt. and i think a lot of people forget that and i don't forget it because i used to be the butt

of jokes for a time and i know what that feels like. you know, i don't know, i think sometimes put it together and go, oh, that's not nice and some people just laugh at it and don't think about it. >> also talked about the dancing that has become the signature of her show. she's tired of it. >> i'd like it to go away. just because it's so ridiculous that that is what people have sort of held on to with this show. it really became, like you said, it took on a life of its own and really was just a fun thing to do at the beginning of the show because it was music and i danced to it and it is what i am sort of known for as much as i am known as a comedian. >> you can't stop dancing. >> i can't stop dancing. people would revolt. >> she promises the scary the guest segment is going to stay.

i don't think it matters if there is a costume, i think somebody can be dressed in like a jacket or a sweater -- >> how did i look? >> isn't it fun? >> it is fun. >> is it as fun? >> it was fun. she was fun. that was real -- she was really cool and just like you see on tv. >> and so thoughtful. >> she's a smart person who has been through a lot. so, anyway, you can see ellen on weekdays. the ellen show at 3:00 here on n nbc 4. she's going to keep scaring people. i think the costumes, that is funny and it's funny to have it done to you. starting monday on news 4 right here at 5:00, we're giving away tickets to hot 95 jingle ball concert featuring justin

bieber, flo rider and watch news 4 all week at 5:00 to for the secret star of the day and enter the name to win each day we're giving a pair of tickets for vip floor seats and one winner will get a chance to meet and greet with one of the jingle ball artists. >> oh, my. hey, the highly anticipated james bond movie is in theaters. "skyfall" the 23rd film. the hunky spy for the third time. "skyfall" on track to be the most profitable film and it has brought in almost $300 million worldwide. another bush is running for office, george p. bush. he filed paperwork to run for office in 2014. he's the nephew of the former president, george w. bush. and he's the son of ex-florida governor, jeb bush.

he is 36 years old and doesn't say what he plans to be running for. the third quarter results showed slowing revenue growth. closing at 276. groupen went public last november with an initial public offering of 20 bucks a share. the company blames the weak economy in europe for its drop. how can you donate items like clothing and shoes to help those affected by hurricane sandy. can leaving the lights on in your laundry room help your hang dry clothes dry faster? is it really dangerous to park on a pile of leaves? they're all over the place, it's friday, folks and it's time to "ask liz" our first question today comes from jane in ashburn, virginia. she wants to donate clothes and shoes to those up in new york and new jersey who were affected by sandy.

is there a way to get those donations to those who need them? >> we turn to the corporation for national and community service now. a federal agency that runs americorp at serve.gov. for this answer and it basically says that it's not. it's very important not to send unsolicited donations. one of the biggest issues around disasters like sandy is the amount of donations that come in before the community can figure what it really needs. the most efficient way to help, cash. donate cash or give blood to the red cross. we'll put a list of organizations accepting clothing donations just go to our website, nbcwashington.com and search sandy relief. really what they need in these early stages is cash. >> still a lot of it. our next question tonight comes through e-mail from a viewer named elizabeth. elizabeth wants to know does leaving the lights on in your laundry room help provide heat to dry hang dry clothes and leaving the lights on make the

clothes dry any faster? >> we turn to the dry cleaning and laundry institute, nope. leaving the lights on will not make your hang drying clothes any faster. keeping the lights on won't affect how fast your hang dry clothes dry but turning up the temperature on your thermostat may help them dry a little faster, however, that method would raise your heating bill, so maybe just wait it out. >> wait it out. >> last question from pam through e-mail. she has always been told, never park on a pile of leaves. she wants to know, why would that be dangerous? >> it's not an old wives tale. we went to the prince george's county fire department. do not park over leaf piles because large mechanical parts of your cars can get extremely hot and if any of those parts are in close or direct contact with the dry leaves under your car, they can and do start fires.

prince george's fire also said to avoid driving on wet leaves, which it says can be a slippery driving hazard. >> all right, don't do it. >> don't do it. coming up next, firefighters show off the dangerous conditions that they were facing during that superstorm sandy. and in just minutes tonight at 6:00, a letter reveals new details about what the white house really knew about the deadly attack on an

massive fire ravaged new york in the midst of sandy's rath. >> radio transitions and video from that night. nbc katie reports. >> reporter: many here will remember it the night hell came to their town. a fury of fire and floods. new york city fire department assistant chief bob mains walked us through of what is left on just this street. 130. >> this is a firefighter's home. >> reporter: dozens of homes were destroyed, but just as many heroes. among them the impossibly hummable ron of engine 265. he dove under the rising water

to find a hydrant and attach a hose. feel as if maybe you did extraordinary? >> nothing more than the other members of my company would do. >> reporter: across town, tommy fee from squad 270 in queens was working with swift water team 6 when they got a call, people trapped. >> so water was this high coming up to the top of the windshield. >> reporter: when they got there, it wasn't just flooding, but fire. a river of water between them. he had to swim and then climb a building to get to those trapped. >> one woman was pregnant and there was a minimum of six children. >> is there a possibility of getting -- >> reporter: amid 70-mile-per-hour winds whipping flames and rising water, he brought survivors across rooftops and out an open window and out on to a rescue boat. >> this was not anything i ever experienced. >> reporter: back on 130 quick thinking that saved the home of

charlie moran and his wife, nancy. life long rock away residents. >> i worked in harlem, brownsville. i went to a lot of fires. but when it's personal, you just, it's tough. >> reporter: and for those guys. it's family. i remember charlie and his brother walter taking me out one night and explaining what to do and what not to do. >> reporter: despite the damage, charlie and nancy say this town is tougher than it looks and they will rebuild. sits a place too rich in tradition and family to keep them away. 1,000 active duty men and women in the fire department were affected in one way or another by sandy. that's 10% of their force and, of course, so many of them live in the rockaways. in the